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Sunday, October 31, 2010

The AP Poll, USA Today Coaches Poll and BCS Standings have one common theme this week, no love for the Big East. That beleaguered league has received no respect from the major polls all season long. Can you tell me why #15 Pitt dropped out of the rankings completely in week 1 following an overtime loss at current #5 Utah, widely accepted as one of the most hostile road enviroments in all of college football?? Makes no sense, yet Va. Tech is ranked, you know the same Hokies who lost to FCS James Madison. Florida State loses to unranked NC State this week and not only stays in the polls but is joined by the team that beat them??? Yet, no Pittsburgh, now 3-0 in the Big East. No Syracuse, now 6-2 overall and one of the biggest turnaround stories this season. Talk about bias against the Big East and hypocricy at its finest. Being a Big East honk (born & raised in Ct.) and a Pac 10 homer (lived in Los Angeles since '94), here's hoping the Big East champion thumps whomever it plays in its BCS Bowl and Oregon runs all the way to the BCS Championship.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Let the controversy begin! The initial BCS standings for this season have been released. Oklahoma sits atop the standings at #1, which may surprise some people as they have not looked especially dominant so far this season. Whether you are a proponent of a playoff system or in favor of the BCS, there is NO denying that college football has THE best regular season in all of sports. Already on ESPN, there are heated debates about these standings. Some question why the non AQ teams, Boise St and TCU are not higher. In my opinion, Boise St. & TCU are too high, their schedules in the WAC & MWC are a joke compared to Oklahoma's Big 12 schedule, Oregon's PAC 10 schedule and Auburn and LSU's SEC schedule.

After what was a wild Saturday in college football that saw #1 Ohio State go down along with a host of surprising upsets...the new Polls have been released.AP Poll1.Oregon (39)2.Boise St. (15)3.Oklahoma (3)4.TCU (3)5.Auburn6.LSU7.Alabama8.Michigan St.9.Utah10.Wisconsin11.Ohio St.12.Stanford13.Iowa14.Nebraska15.Arizona16.Florida St.17.Oklahoma St.18.Missouri19.South Carolina20.West Virginia21.Arkansas22.Texas23.Virginia Tech24.Mississippi St.25.Miami (FL)

Friday, October 1, 2010

Rumors that the Big East conference is targeting TCU as a potential new member are beginning to gain serious traction. Reports began to surface earlier this week and by mid-week non denail denials were being issued on both sides as well as talk that the two sides had actually met to discuss.

As a lifelong fan of the Big East, i'm all in favor of such a move and have actually thought TCU would be a great addition to the league for quite some time now. They have become a perennial top 5/top 10 caliber team under Gary Patterson the last several years. The Big East has long been in need of another strong football program to bolster the football side of the conference. The dismal showing by the league thus far in the early season underscores that fact. Not to mention that adding TCU would increase the football teams to 9 and solve the scheduling headaches that an 8 football team league presents. Whether TCU would join as a full member or just in football remains to be seen. Remember, the Big East boasts 16 basketball schools and stands as THE elite hoops conference in all the land (sorry ACC). Critics of TCU joining the Big East are quick to point out that a Texas school hardly belongs in the Big East. However, upon closer inspection, travel distance to most Big East schools would be the same as it is for TCU traveling to far flung MWC schools. Did Texas in the Pac 10 or Big 10 make sense? No, but it almost happened. How about BC in the ACC? I could go on and on..... Throw in the fact the the Big East has an automatic bid into the big money BCS bowls, something that the MWC does not posess (and most likely never will with BYU and Utah bolting for greener pastures) and the TCU/Big East marriage seems all the more realistic.

It would be a win win for both sides and would help the Big East improve its tarnished football image, add a huge TV market for a potential Big East Network, open up fertile Texas recruiting grounds to the league and most of all... fend off potential raids by rival leagues down the line. Here's hoping TCU joins the Big East sooner rather than later.